Magneto



Feb. 14, 1928.

3196589858 C. F. RES

MAGNETO Filed Nov. 4. 1926 2 Sheets-Shea? 2 @www1 'to L BEES, OF CHECAG, ELLEN-OES, ASSEG'QR T@ WESTER` ira Application idea oveinher el, 192.

This invention relates more particularly to a class o apparatus for generating electricity ttor ignition purposes.

My invention has for its object primarily to provide a magneto designed to' be employed for generating electricity igor oper- Y ating especially the internal combustion enn gines oi motor driven vehicles by supplying the spark plugs of the engines with ignition current, and wherein is provided a stationary high tension armature having its core and pole pieces composed entirely of laminatiohs. The usual stationary magnetic iield elements are dispensed with,and instead a rotary sleeve including a magnet member and a driven member is provided. The magnet member has spaced pole pieces each preferably of the width and curvature of about the quadrant ot a ,circle and'on each pole piece is a sleeve composed ot laminations to increase the :dow ot magnetic flux and to ydecrease eddy currents. The driven member has two spaced plate pieces each also of a width and curvature oi" about the quadrant `oi` a circle, and these plate pieces are disposed between the pole pieces oit the inagnet. The sleeve is employed with the po e .pieces of the magnet and plate pieces ot the driven member` surrounding the pole pieces vof the armature so that the pole pieces and plate pieces will move crosswise around the pole pieces and winding of the armature when the sleeve is rotated. A stationarily positioned circuit breaker is provided for periodically interrupting the primary current to induce high voltage in the secondary circuit, and a condenser is employed for intensiiying the voltage from the breaker. The circuit breaker' isoperated at intervals by means provided on the driven member o the rotary sleeve.

`A further object of the invention is 'to provide a magneto of a simple, eliicient and durable construction which may be made in appropriate sizes and shapes.

`With these and other objects in view the invention will be hereinafter more fully explained with reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part otl this specification in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and will then be pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional View, partly in elevation, taken through one form of magneto embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a 'top plan the magneto with the cover removed.

Fig. 3 is a reduced perspective view of the magnet used in the apparatus.,

Fig. l is a sectional view, par 'ly in eleva tion, taken on 'the line L-l of `Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a. sectional view, partly in elevation, taken on the line 5-5 oit Fig. l, and

Fig. yd is a diagrammatic view, partly in section and partly fragmentary, showing an electric circuit which may be used in con= junction with the magneto for tiring the spark plugs of a combustion engine. l

The magneto has a conductive housing which may be of any suitable shape and size, though the housing illustrated is preferably of somewhat a rectangular shape to provide a base or lower wall 11, side walls 12, 13 top wall 11i and end walls 15, 16.

rlhe housing is preferably formed or cast of aluminum so that the base 11, side walls 12, 13 top wall 1&1 and the end wall 16 are integral. As shown, the side walls are curved outwardly and the inner faces of the base and upper wall are concaved to providea cylindrical chamber 17 extending lengthwise oi' the housing. Parts of the side walls 12, 13 of the housing entend upwardly, as at 18, 19 and on part ot the upper wall 1d at one of the ends ofthe extensions 18, 19 is an extension 20. The extensions 18, 19, 20 form the walls of a substantially rectangular chamber 21 above the cylindrical chamber 17, and both of these chambers have alined open ends opposite to the end wall 16. rlhe end wall of the housing closes the open ends of both of the chambers 17, 21, and this end wall 15 is removably attached, at 22, to suitable parts of the side walls and base of the housing. rlhe top 'of the upper chamber 21 is closed by a cover 23 which is removably fastened, at 24, to the walls 18, 19, o the chamber, andl in the upper wall 14 of the housing in proximity to the removable end wall 15 is an opening 25 which leads into the cylindrical chamber 17 and into the upper chamber 21. The central portion of the end wall 15 is stamped outwardly in somewhat the Jform of a circular cap, as 26, to provide a recess 27 on the inner face of the wall in communication with the cylindrical chamber 17. In the center of the cap-'shaped portion 26 of the end wall 15 is an opening 28, and at the edge of this opening may be an annular fiange 29 which extends into the recess 27 of the end plate 15. Leading through the cap-shaped portion 26 and leading through the upper part of the end plate 15 is a passage or duct 30 which extends from the opening 28 of the end plate into the upper chamber 21.

In the forward part of the chamber 17 is a stationary armature 31 which lis preferably of a form having spaced circular end plates 32, 33 of electro-conductive metal such as bronze or brass. These conductive end plates are of considerably less diameter than the diameter of the cylindrical chamber 17, and the plates are spaced from each other .at a distance considerably less than vthe length of the cylindrical chamber. Between diametrically opposite parts of the plates 32, 33 are. pole pieces 34, 35 each of which is composed entirely of laminations 36, and each pole piece is secured to the plates by means of bolts or rods 37. Between thel central parts of the laminated pole pieces 34, 35 is the core 38 which is also preferably composed of laminations 39, and this core is removably fastened to each of the pole pieces by screws or bolts 40 which are driven through the pole pieces into the ends of the core 38. The core 38 and pole pieces 34, 35 are made as usual of decarbomzed or soft iron metal, and the core carries a high tension winding 41. One end of the primary winding 42 .and one end of the secondary winding 43 is attached at 44 to one of the'` pole pieces of the armature. The core 38 is removably mounted withrespect to the pole pieces 34, 35 by the screw bolts 40 for the purpose of enabling the winding to be removed from the armature and replaced 0r repaired when damaged. Inv a threaded opening provided in the center of the end plate 32 of the armature is screwed the threaded end of a sleeve 45 which extends through the flanged opening 28 of the recessed cap portion 26 of the end plate 15 of the housing. The portion of the sleeve 45 in the opening 28 is somewhat reduced in diameter to provide an annular shoulder 46 which abuts against the edge of the flange 29 of the opening 28 of the recessed portion 26 of the end plate 15, and the end of the sleeve 45 protruding beyond the opening 28 is exteriorly threaded, as at 47. On .the threads 47 is screwed a nut, as 48, which tightly engages the cap portion 26 of the end plate for clamping the armature in a stationary position in the cylindrical chamber 17. The duet 30 of the end plate 15 of the housing leads from a groove extending along the wall of the passage of the sleeve 45, and the primary winding 42 of the armature extends v through this groove .and through the duct 30 into the upper chamber 2l of the housing. la the passage of the end plate 32 of the armature 31.

masses ondary winding terminates with a conductive block 51 having its outer end Hush with or extending slightly beyond the head 50 o1' the tube 49.

Surrounding the stationary armature 3l is a sleeve, as 52, which is rotatable in the cylindrical chamber 17. The rotary sleeve 52 is composed of a magnet member 53 and a driven member 54 for rotating the magnet. The driven member 54 is preferably made ot' bronze, and this member has a circular end plate 55 with .a cylindrical lug or butt portion, as 56, extending from the center of one face of the end plate. The end plate 55 of the sleeve member 54 is. in proximity to the end plate 33 of the armature 31 and the end plate 55 is of greater diameter than-the diameter of the armature. The cylindrical butt 56 of the end plate 55 is of such a length that it terminates in spaced relation to the plate 16 of the housing, and extending from the butt is a shaft, as 57, which protrudes through an opening 58 in the center of the end plate 16 of the housing. On the inner face of the end plate 16 of the housing is a circular recess 59 which surrounds the opening 58 and surrounds the shaft 57. In the recess 59 is an anti-friction bearing 60 for the shaft 57. Projecting from diametrieally opposite parts of thesecond face of the end plate 55 at its peripheral edge are two arms or plate pieces 61,-62. Each of the plate pieces 61, 62 is arcuate in cross .section and preferably of a width and curvature of about the quadrant of a circle, and beth of the plate pieces are spaced at distances and are disposed so that they span the armature lengthwise with the armature being in close ly spaced relation to the walls of their concavities. The plate pieces 61, 62 are of such lengths that they terminate at the end plate 32 of the armature, and removably attached, as at 62a, to these ends of the plate pieces is an end plate 63 having a central opening through which the sleeve 45 of the armature 31 extends. Protruding from the outer face of the end plate 63 and surrounding its opening may be an annular flange 64 which is rotatable on the sleeve 45 of the Between the annular flange 64 of the end plate 63 and the wall of the recess 27 of the end plate 15 of the housing is .an anti-friction bearing 65.

The magnet member 53 is made of decarbonized iron preferably of a form having a cylindriealbutt portion 66 with an opening.'l 67 in its center, and surrounding the openmusees ing in one face of 'the butt portion 69 is a recess titl, 'lv'h-e magnet is arranged, as shown in Fig l, withthe lug or but-t portion 56 of the driven member ist being seated in the recess titl oi' the magnet and with the shaft 57 of the driven member extendingl through the opening o7 of the butt portion 66 of the magnet, rlChc butt portion titi of the magnet therefore surrounds the lug and shaft of the driven member. and the butt portion titi is of a similar diameter to the .diameter of the end plate of the driven member 5 of the rotary sleeve. Extending from diametrically opposite parts of the outer edge of the recessed face of the butt portion 66 of the magnet are'two pole pieces 69, 70. rlhe pole pieces 69, 70 are disposed between the plates 61. 92 of the driven member 54. yThe pole pieces are ot such len ths that their free ends terminate at the en plates 32 of the armature 231. and cach of the pole pieces is arcuate in cross section and of a width and. curvature of about the quadrant of a circle. 'On each of the pole pieces of the magnet is a magnetic sleeve 71 of such a length that it extends throughout the length of its respective pole piece, and each of the sleeves 71 is composed entirely of laminations 72. 'lfhc laminated sleeve pole pieces are of lengths corresponding to the length of the. armature, and the pole pieces are disposed with the armature being arranged in their concavities so that the pole pieces and the plate pieces of the, driven member 54 will revolve crosswisc around the pole pieces 34;-, and the winding of the armature when the member 5l is driven. The laminated pole pieces of the magnet serve to increase the ovv of mag netic tlux and lessen the gene 'ation of eddy currents. and the magnet as thus employed may be retarded or advanced to any desired position from 1 to 360 degrees.

ln the upper chamber 21 of the housing is a circuit breaker 73 for interrupting rthe primary current at intervals, and this circuit breaker is stationarily positioned in the upper chamber for being operated instead of being of a type adapted to be rotatably operated. The circuit breakerl 73 is preferably of a form composed of a conductive spring metal member 74 of substantiallya lll-shape to provide two spaced arms 75, 76 and a. bridging member 77. rlhe bridging member 77 is fastened by screws 78 on the upper face of a conductive block or plate 79 which is insulated at 80 from the upper wall 14 or bottom of the upper chamber of the housing, and 'the conductive block is fastened bv screws 81 to the bottom of the upper chamber. cach screw being also insulated at 82 from the block. On the conductive block 79 is a binding post 8? which connects the primary winding of the armature to the block 79. The circuit breaker has a second conductive spring metal member 8l of approxin'iately a rectangular shape to provide side arms 85, 86 and end arms 87, 88. r1Ehe spring member Si is of a width so that its side arms S5, 86 are disposed in lapping arrangement under the arms 75, 76 of the spring member 71 and so that the end arm 8S is in lapping arrangement under the bridging arm 77 of the spring member 7l. "lhe screws '78 of the bridging arm 77 also pass through holes in the end arm 8S of the spring member Sl, and on each of the screws 78 may be a washer S9 for spacing the spring member 7l and spring member Sie slightly above the conductive block 7 9. yhe spring member Sel is of such a length that its end arm 87 extends to a position above the opening 25 of the upper wall la of the housing, and the central part of this end arm 87 of the member 8l is fastened by screws 90 to a conductive plate 91 having an arm 92 protruding toward the end plate 15 of the housing. yl`he screws 9() also connect to the end arm 87 of the spring member 8% and to the conductive plate 91 an insulating block 93 which may be of a T-shape having its vertical leg movably extending through the opening 25 of the upper wall 1l of the housing. rllhe vertical leg of the T-shaped block 93 is of such a length that its lower end movably engages the rotary sleeve 52 in the chamber 17. To the part of the upper wall 14 of the conductive housing 1() adjacent to the opening 25 is conductively held the lower end of a contact or pin which protrudes upwardly toward the arm 92 of the conductive plate 91. Projecting downwardly from the arm 92 of the conductive plate 91 is a pin or contact 95 having its lower end seated on the upper end of 'the contact 94. 'lhe spring member 74 and the spring member 84. of the circuit breaker 73 are tensioned for yieldingly forcing the contact 95 normallyY in engagement with the Contact 94. llilhen the magneto is operated the primary current will flow from one terminal ot' the winding 42 to the conductive block 79, through the spring members 74, 84. through the plate 91, to the contact 95, and through the contact 94 and through the magneto frame to the other terminal of winding 42. llhen contacts 94 and 95 are opened a high voltage is induced in the secondary circuit as will be later explained. Associated with the circuit breaker 73 is a condenser 96 for intensifying the voltage induced in the secondary circuit. The condenser 96 may be of any suitable type. @ne pole, as 97, of the condenser is connected at 98 to the conductive block 79 of the circuit breaker. and the .second pole 99 ofthe condenser is fastened at 100 to the upper wall 14- of the conductive housing 10. The condenser' is therefore interposed in the primary circuit by connecting its pole 97 to lll? the conductive block 79 and connecting its pole 99 to the housing.

In order to operate the circuit breaker 73 to produce a spark gap between the contacts 94, 95, on the plate piece 62 of the driven member 54 of the rotary sleeve 52 is a cam 101 preferably in the form of a` pin havin4 a head 102 and a shank 103 .which is seate in a hole in the plate piece of the driven member. The shank-103 of the cam pin may be secured inv its hole by means of a pin, as 104 which is drivenv through registered holes extending from part of one of the edges of the plate piece 62 of the driven member and through the shank of the cam pin. IIhe head 102 of the cam pin protrudes from the outer face of the plate piece 62, and this cam is positioned onl the plate piece of ythe driven member 5'4 for engaging the vertical leg of the insulating block 93 when the rotary sleeve 52 is driven. The cam 101 is adapted to engage the operating block 93 with each revolution of the rotary sleeve 52 for moving the block upwardly in the chamber 20 of the housing, and with each operation ofthe block 93 the plate 91 of the circuit breaker will `ialso be moved in an upward direction against the tension of the spring members 74, 84 of the circuitbreaker. The head of the cam 101 is proportioned for moving the block 93 and 'the members 74, 84 suiiicient distances for spacing the contact 95 from the contact 94 to provide a suitable spark gap between the contacts of the circuit breaker. When the primary current is interrupted by the opening of the contacts 94 and 95, the condenser shunted across the contacts reduces sparking of the contactsand serves to increase the secondary voltage in a manner well understood in the art. In order to operate the circuit breaker 7 3 at various intervals for interrupting the primary current to meet dif-l ferent firing requirements when the magneto is used in practice the shaft 57 may be driven at slow or fast speeds accordingly. As here shown the driven member carries only a single cam, hence the shaft 57 must be driven at double the speed ofthe crank shaft in ord-er to produce the proper movement of sparks for a. four-cylinder, four-,cycle engine.

On the front of the cap or recessed portion 26 of the end plate 15 of the housing may be provided a removable cap 105 of insulating material. Un` the bottom of the recess of the insulating cap 105 is a conductive strip as 106, and this conductive strip is engage(L by the conductive block or head 51 of thesecondary winding 43 of the armature. To the strip 106l is connected one end of a conductor or wire 107 which leads through an opening 108 in the cap 105, and this conductor which is a continuation of the secondary winding 43 may lead to a distributer, as A Fig. 6, or may lead to the spark plugs of an internal combustion engine, as B. The provision of sleeve 50 `of insulation and cap 105 together with the conductor 106 and wire 107 avoids the necessityof using a brush and slip ring for leading .off the secondary current.

In practice the housing of the magneto may be conductivelysupported on or connected to the crank casing or other part of the engine B, and the shaft 57 is coupled to the shaft of the engine for being operated at the desired speed. The housing which provides a terminal for" the primary current would then be grounded, asat C, to the engine, and the spaii'k plugs of the engine are suitably wired to the distribnter A. When the sleeve 52 is rotated fiux from the magnet will pass through the core 38 of the high tension windingand will cause current to How in the primary circuit. The primary current will be interrupted each time cam 101 strikes the block 93 and the current inducedin the secondary lcurrent will iiow through the distributor A to the spark plugs of the engine in the usual manner.

In the foregoing description, I have embodied the preferred form of my invention, but I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto, as "I am aware that modifications may be made therein withoutdeparting from the principle or sacrificin any of the advantages of this invention, t erefore, I reserve to myself the right to make such changes as fairly fal-l within the scope thereof.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1.` In a magneto,a field member comprising a magnet having two arcuate pole pieces and an apertured butt portion, a laminated sleeve on each of said pole pieces and a driven member comprising two plate pieces interlocked with thepole pieces of said magnet to form a hollow cylinder and a shaft secured to' said plate pieces and projecting through the aperture in the butt portion of said magnet.

2. In a magneto, the combination with a stationary armature, of a sleeve including a magnet member anda driven member secured together in interlocked relation and rotatable about said armature, and laminated magnetic sleeves on the polev pieces of said magnet.

3. In a magneto, the combination with a .stationary armature, of a rotatable sleeve comprising a magnet member and a driven member in interlocked relation and enclosing said armature, said magnet member being U-shaped and having an apertured butt portion, and said driven member having plate pieces contacting with the pole pieces of said magnet andhaving ashaft projecting through the aperture in the butt portion of the magnet'member, said shaft providing means for rotating saidfsleeve movaby dispo ed the pas u *aces *whe magnet9 sald plaa pieces amel sie pieces 2 sale?, @me y, an@ means Y Q shapel magne' a ametcay spaced pele eces a laminates; asmetc' Sleeve on each of said mole l ane said lammtons be? ally at C 1i; mffles to th@ aXS mi, im@ a member comprising EQ2-21 acuate plaie pieces coutaclg olgitr; Wih said die pieces :'o @ivlg said mag- A. i, 36a., 

